Thoughts on Running After Baby #2

Hello! Look at this – another blog post! I started this post in December (!), but clearly it has taken me awhile to come up with a running update.

Life, etc.

In short, the answer is…things are good! First, a life update to give context to the running update: We made the decision to take Teddy out of nursery school/daycare (he had been going 5 days a week) due to the constant illness. We had a really rough winter – it was honestly the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. From December through March, I don’t think there was a single day that everyone in the house was healthy. We were hit with multiple stomach bugs, pneumonia, RSV, strep throat, and countless colds. Really tough. So! Both kids are home now and while it’s busy and hectic and tiring (some days I swear I don’t sit down for 10 hours straight), it’s also been really good. Because we’re not sick, we’re all sleeping better (!!) and we’re able to do fun activities like playground visits and lots of outdoor time.

I’ve taken a look at my workload and said no to some things that didn’t have a good ROI. I’m still working part-time (writing for various clients and social media management for a local newspaper, maybe 15-20 hours a week?) so we have a babysitter most mornings. And then I work during naps and on weekends to get everything done.

And as of last month (June), I started working one day a week as a breastfeeding counselor for the County WIC (Women, Infants, Children) office. It’s taken some getting used to – a commute, working in an office again, but I really really love it. Cobbling together a professional life while also being a mom is a constantly evolving thing. The balance feels good right now, but if I’ve learned anything…it’s that change is inevitable!

Running Lately

Since I’ve been home with both kids, I’ve noticed that I’m just physically more tired (lots of lifting, carrying, cleaning, chasing after Teddy when he runs outside with no pants, etc). And that naturally affects my running.

Ideally, I’d run before the kids wake-up, but Brian leaves for work pretty early, usually before 5:30am, so that complicates things. Teddy sleeps until 6:15-6:30am and Evelyn often sleeps later than that (*sometimes* as late as 8am), but I don’t feel comfortable going down to the basement to run on the treadmill and leaving them upstairs alone (especially since Teddy is in a big boy bed and can just…leave the bedroom).

I know there are plenty of mamas out there who wake up and run in the 4’s (which is what I’d have to do to get in a run before B left for work), but honestly I am prioritizing sleep right now and I’m okay with that. Sometimes I’ll use some babysitter time to go for a run or I’ll take the kids out in the double jogging stroller. Other times, I’ll put the baby down for a nap, and let Teddy watch TV while I work out in the basement. Last night I did my long run after Brian got home from work.

In mid-April I ran the inaugural Helderberg to Hudson Half Marathon and it went just about how I expected. I finished in 1:43:06 (7:53 pace) and it felt pretty tough. The course was great, but the day was pretty warm (mid-60’s and sunny at the finish).

I just started marathon training for Chicago and I’m doing my best to strike a balance between quality training and….everything else in my life. 13 weeks until race day and here’s hoping I can get those long runs and work outs in. It always seems impossible until you do it, right? Every time I’m gearing up to begin marathon training…running 15, 18, 20+ miles seems out of the question, but once I get in the swing of things, I find that I really do like the training.

Here’s what this week’s training looks like:

Monday: 5 miles, easy

Tuesday: 10 miles alternating the pace every 10 minutes. So, for example, my long run pace range is 8:15-9:30 pace (I use the McMillan training calculator). For the entire run, I alternated between 9:00 (middle of the pace range), 9:30 (slow end of the pace range), and 8:15 (fast end of the pace range) every 10 minutes. Tuesday is an odd day to do a long run, but I didn’t end up running long last weekend because of a 5k race and I’ll be traveling this weekend (and it will be 96 degrees lol), so I running Tuesday night after work is what made sense.

Wednesday: Rest day! Maybe some strength training if I have time.

Thursday: 9 miles total including 8-10 x 200m repeats with 200m recovery (400m recovery after every set of 4 repeats). Aiming for a time of 40-44 seconds for these.

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: 4-6 miles

Sunday, 4-6 miles easy

Total: ~35 miles

Ideally, the quality workouts would be on Wednesday (track workout) and Saturday (long run), but this is real life, so I’m just doing the best I can to get it done, ya know?

So, why are you training for a marathon, anyway?!

A mom-friend of mine recently told me how’s she’s taken a break from running while her kids are small. And I totally respect (and understand!) that position. It’s hard to find time and energy to exercise with kids, let alone train for races. But for me, it’s important to have a goal. Most of my PRs were from shortly after college when all I had to worry about was myself. I was also a decade younger, well rested, and not breastfeeding on demand. I don’t really have any illusions of running a ~19-minute 5k or a ~1:30 half marathon like I did in 2010-2011, but I DO really like the process of laying out a training plan, executing workouts, and pushing myself in races. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It reminds me that there is more to me than motherhood. And it’s fun! I like running with other people. I like talking about the newest shoes and the latest Garmin technology.

Anyway, my point is, I’m not jumping back into running and racing for any real tangible reasons. I don’t care about PRs (right now) or seeing a certain number on the scale. Sometimes I just want to remind myself of what my body can do and of who I am besides a mom. Fingers crossed I can make it to the start (and finish lol) line of the Chicago Marathon. Stay tuned!